page_title: Italian colonists in the Dodecanese
section_title: Architectural legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Italian colonists in the Dodecanese / Architectural legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Italian "Orientalist" building in Rhodes city, Rhodes, Greece.
context_page_description: Italian colonists were settled in the Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea in the 1930s by the Fascist Italian government of Benito Mussolini, Italy having been in occupation of the Islands since the Italian-Turkish War of 1911.
  By 1940, the number of Italians settled in the Dodecanese was almost 8,000, concentrated mainly in Rhodes. In 1947, after the Second World War, the islands came into the possession of Greece: as a consequence most of the Italians were forced to emigrate and all of the Italian schools were closed. However, their architectural legacy is still evident, especially in Rhodes and Leros.
context_section_description: The citadel of Rhodes city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks in great part to the large-scale restoration work carried out by the Italian authorities. The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes formed the centerpiece of this project, after being largely destroyed by an ammunition explosion in 1856.
  In the 1920s, the Italians demolished the houses that were built in and around the city walls during the Ottoman period. They also turned the Jewish and Ottoman cemeteries into a green zone surrounding the Medieval Town. The Italians preserved what was left from the Knights' period, and destroyed all other Ottoman buildings that weren't of importance. Furthermore, in those years an "Institute for the study of the History and Culture of the Dodecanese region" was established, and major infrastructure work was done to modernize Rhodes. Buildings like the Aquarium were built, mainly in art deco style.
  Indeed, in all the Dodecanese islands remains a huge architectural legacy from the Italian colonists. Here are some examples:
  The Grande Albergo delle Rose (now "Casino Rodos") built by Florestano Di Fausto and Michele Platania in 1927, with a mix of Arab, Byzantine and Venetian styles.
  The Casa del Fascio of Rhodes, built in 1939 in typical fascist style. It serves now as the City Hall.
  The Catholic church of San Giovanni, built in 1925 by Rodolfo Petracco, as a reconstruction of the medieval cathedral church of the Knights of St. John.
  The Teatro Puccini of the city of Rhodes, now called "National Theater", built in 1937 with 1,200 seats.
  The Palazzo del Governatore in downtown Rhodes, built in 1927 in Venetian style. It now houses the offices of the Prefecture of the Dodecanese.
  The Villaggio rurale San Benedetto, now Kolymbia village, built in 1938 as a planned model village with all modern services.
  The Community of Portolago (now Lakki) in the island of Leros, built in 1938 in typical Italian Deco style.
caption: Building in Rhodes city
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